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In the world of the near future, who will control women's bodies? — Offred is a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead. She may leave the home of the Commander and his wife once a day to walk to food markets whose signs are now pictures instead of words because women are no longer allowed to read. She must lie on her back once a month and pray th... more »at the Commander makes her pregnant, because in an age of declining births, Offred and the other Handmaids are only valued if their ovaries are viable.

Offred can remember the days before, when she lived and made love with her husband Luke; when she played with and protected her daughter; when she had a job, money of her own, and access to knowledge. But all of that is gone now....

Funny, unexpected, horrifying, and altogether convincing, The Handmaid's Tale is at once scathing satire, dire warning, and tour de force.« less

Top Member Book Reviews

Published in 1986, this book has the profound ring of George Orwell's 1984. Perhaps the era called out to Ms. Atwood. I don't know. But her tale is only a little less grim than Orwell's.

The Handmaid's Tale is the story of Offred (short for Handmaid of Fred). Separated from her identity, child, husband, and all connection to her past life, Offred has but one purpose in life -- to have a baby. She is a lady assigned to a high-ranking official's house. His wife is childless, so Offred's job is to bear a child by him. This is her only function in the household.

In her time and community, anyone who deviates from the society's doctrine is tortured, publicly killed, and left on "the Wall" for all to see. Most women have no names, no rights. It is illegal for them to read. Divorce is impossible, as is running away, since security checkpoints are instated for just the purpose of ensuring everyone stays just where they're supposed to.

Offred spends her time reminiscing about her past life when she had a career, friends, a husband, and a daughter. She imagines all of the possible fates of her loved ones and dreads her own.

Her character is not particularly brave or intelligent. She is not a heroine who will rise above this situation with little effort. One can imagine that she is at least an ordinary woman with strong feelings, not the least of which is fear -- fear of pain, of loneliness, and of death.

The society and its ways reveal themselves slowly. The narrator seems to assume that no explanation is necessary. This is a strong point for the book, which does not insult the intelligence of the reader, but leaves it to him/her to determine certain facts and draw certain conclusions on their own. It reminds me of The Giver also, as it reveals slowly such truths that the narrator seems sometimes to take for granted. Such truths sometime change the way you see other events from earlier in the novel. It's strongly written.

Also, for James Joyce lovers, there is the sense of stream of consciousness. Later, in the Epilogue, we find out just why it seems that way. In the meantime, you feel as if you're wandering through the thoughts of a woman desperately trying to hold her sanity together. It makes me think of the women in Afghanistan when the Taliban was in charge. Educated women were forbidden from working anymore and needed a man to conduct any business for them. There are similar echoes here.

Except that it is not radical Islam that plays a central villainous role. It is Christian extremism which preaches that the woman is subservient to the man, that divorce is adultery and punishable by death, and that anyone who does not follow "the way" is a sinner who must be harshly and swiftly punished.

The tale is rooted in fear. What could happen in a society consumed by such fear of each other, of the government, of outsiders? Margret Atwood centers her story on the females and what the regime does to them. But there are inklings that many males also suffer -- particularly those who are not well off or influential.

It's a good book -- about 300 pages and a real page turner. Very suspenseful. But difficult to read. So many things in it are quite appalling. It will get you thinking, though, about extreme Christian movements and what might happen if people without the purest intentions found their way into power and began using religion as a weapon. I don't think that this could actually happen (optimist that I am) in the US in my lifetime, because I believe that people are inherently good. But then, it happened in Afghanistan, didn't it?

I am a serial re-reader -- If a book really gets stuck in my head, I revisit it like an old friend over and over again. I may read it from cover to cover or only spend time getting reaquainted with my favorite parts of the story. That said, I've read The Handmaid's Tale at least 10 times -- and counting. I love dystopian literature, and this is one of the best in my opinion.

The novel tells the tale of the heroine Offred (not her real name -- in Atwood's future, women are addressed by an explanation of who they belong to, i.e., "Of Fred.")Society has crumbled, and some unexplained global tragedy has occurred leaving most women sterile. Those who can still conceive -- the Handmaids -- are forced to bear children for those who can afford it, society families, military men and those in good standing with the new uber-spooky government. Big Brother is hard at work in this book, which still terrifies me every time I read it. One of my Top 20 books without a doubt. Just writing this review makes me want to pick it up and begin the story all over again. [close]

An excellent and disturbing near future story. In the Republic of Gilead - which is what appeared after the US was violently overthrown - women are property, with few rights, and no control over their own destinies or bodies. We meet Offred - a handmaid to her Commander - and learn some of her past, as well as some of the history that brought the Republic into power.

Full of disturbing imagery, this is a powerful story that will make you think. Highly recommended.

I truly fascinating book about what happens when separation of Church and State collapse and a small but powerful group with very strong beliefs forces one and all to submit. The writing is very strong, with artful, and compelling use of suspense and characters. Once you start, it's a pageturner from start to finish.

This book knocked me off my feet. The horror that the world could turn into that in a blink of an eye. This book was written in the 1950s, but if the events of September 11 happened how it was "supposed" to go, we might be here. Who knows? The prologue was confusing, but otherwise I was captured by this book and its style. You have to keep up with it, but it isn't terribly difficult. This should be mandatory high school reading or college. (There are some curses and sexual suggestions.) As a woman, I am PROUD to say I make my own money, support myself and can make decisions. This book shows what prejudice and racism can lead to.

Reading this book left me very conflicted. Did I enjoy it? Well, yes - most of it. The story was quite well developed and the author did a marvelous job creating the main character through whose eyes we view the story. Much of the narrative was painfully slow and caused me to skip a number of pages and I don't feel I lost any of the story. I understand what the author was trying to accomplish when she wrote the detail, but that doesn't me I had to like it - or read it for that matters.

The books ending was very disappointing. Perhaps the author felt she needed to leave it where she did, in view of the rest of the story, but that doesn't mean I had to like that either! Glad I read it, wouldn't read it again.